N EWS A NALVSIS
BAe TESTS RJ WATERS
m m
BAe removes seats and derates engines to breathe new life into the 146
Although the battle of the regional jets will be fought
and won in the USA, it is a
foreign field for the contestants
and one not lightly entered.
The latest shot fired in what is
so far largely a phoney war is the
unveiling by British Aerospace's
US arm of a "derated" 146-100,
dubbed the RJ (for regional jet)
70 (for 70 seats).
The unveiling at last month's
Regional Airlines Association
meeting in Washington DC was
not a launch, but a "testing of the
water". Launch of the RJ70 will
depend on how US and European
airlines react to the concept of a
four-jet regional airliner. Should
the water prove welcoming, the
RJ70 could fly in the second
quarter of 1991, says BAe.
(FKgfa,4-10July,, P15)
Critics argue that the RJ70 is
nothing more than a thinly dis
guised 146-100, sales of which
have tailed off. BAe counters this
by highlighting the regional jet's
electronic cockpit and derated
engines, which improve reliabil
ity and maintainability over the
original 146-100.
Also questioned is BAe's wis
dom in pitching the 70-seat 146
derivative so close to its 64-seat
ATP twin-turboprop, so far a
slow seller. The key to the ration
ale behind BAe's move may lie in
the ATP's poor sales perform
ance, however.
The 80- to 100-seat 146 has a
commendably wide customer
base, but fewer than 40 of the
186 aircraft on firm order are for
key US airlines. The major re
gional footholds are in United
Express carriers Air Wisconsin
and Aspen Airways. American
Airlines and USAir are 146 opera
tors, having inherited aircraft in
takeovers (of AirCaland PSA
respectively), but between them
they account for 105 of the 226
firm orders for
the 146's princi
pal competitor,
the Fokker 100.
BAe's 19-seat
Jetstream 31
twin-turbo
prop, in con
trast, has been
remarkably suc
cessful in North
America, US regionals account
ing for more than 200 of the 310
aircraft on firm order. Customers
include the regional affiliates of
American, Northwest, Pan Am,
United and USAir.
The 29-seat Jetstream 41 looks
set to emulate that success, with
ten firm orders from launch cus
tomer Pan Am Express and com
mitments for around 100 more
including 50 for influential US
regional American Eagle.
The larger ATP has so far been
unable to build on the success of
the Jetstream, with United Ex
press carrier and 146 operator
Air Wisconsin the only US cus
tomers to date for the 64-seat
twin-turboprop. This lack of suc
cess may not be entirely the
aircraft's fault, however.
The ATP's major competitor,
the 66/70-seat Aerospatiale/
Aeritalia ATR72, has yet to emu
late the US sales success of the
smaller ATR42, although it has
footholds in the regional affili
ates of American, Pan Am and
TWA. Large turboprops so far
seem less than popular with US
regionals.
These carriers
"Should the water do want §reater
capacity, but
prove welcoming, coupled with
i nrtn iin • higher speed for
the RJ70 COUld fly in whtch there are
7 QQ 1 " two distinct op-
*" """" " tions — the
high-speed tur
boprop and the
regional jet. Boeing Canada and
Saab offer the former, and Ca-
nadair, Embraer —and now BAe
— the latter option.
Boeing Canada has yet to
launch its 70-seat, 350kt
(650km/h)-cruise Dash 8-400,
but has a considerable US re
gional customer base for the
-100/300 on which to build. The
50-seat, 350kt-cruise Saab 2000
has been launched and American
Eagle holds options on 50.
Canadair in effect created the
regional jet market with its Chal
lenger-derived 50-seat RJ but,
while holding orders and options
for 139 aircraft, has yet to an
nounce a major US customer.
Parent company Bombardier's
purchase of Shorts killed off its
competing FJX project, and gave
Canadair access to the UK com
pany's wide US customer base.
Embraer quickly followed
Canadair into the market with a
stretched, turbofan-powered de
rivative of its successful EMB-
120 Brasilia 30-seat twin-
turboprop. Significantly, Em-
braer's launch customer for the
50-seat EMB-145 Amazon is US
Brasilia operator Comair. The
Delta Connection carrier has
signed a $700 million deal for the
first 60 aircraft.
While Canadair is firmly aim
ing its RJ at the North American
market, arguing that its 460kt
cruise and 870nm (1,600km)
range extends the reach of hub
and spoke operations, the Em
braer order is the first firm
indication of US interest.
It is into this divided and
uncertain market that BAe has
pitched the four-jet RJ70 priced
at $18 million a copy, below the
146-100 but above the ATP. At
$16 million, the Canadair RJ
costs more per seat to buy, re
flecting its higher development
cost, and BAe claims its regional
jet will break even, on 300nm
routes, carrying 30 passengers.
The RJ70 offers several attrac
tions to BAe, not least the prom
ise of extending the life of the
146 line at low development cost
and risk. All that remains is to
convince US regionals that the
RJ70 is the best solution. •
FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 11 - 17July 1990 25